Jewelry display tray



' Feb. 27, 1968 s, M. ROSEN 3,370,702

JEWELRY DISPLAY TRAY Filed Aug. 18, 1966 jamue M /705er@ United StatesPatent O M 3,370,702 JEWELRY DISPLAY TRAY Samuel M. Rosen, 333 N.Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60601 Filed Aug. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 573,3504 Claims. (Cl. 206-76) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A jewelry display traycomprising a central panel and side walls extending upwardly andoutwardly from the front side of the central panel and joined at theirinner margins to the outer margins of the central panel. The side wallsare joined together at their ends. The rear side of the Acentral panelhas support-engaging means attached thereto which comprise bands offa-bric, or the like, secured at their extremities to th-e centralpanel. One of the bands is connected to opposite side margins of thecentral panel while another of the bands is connected to adjacent sidemargins of the central panel. This arrangement enables the tray toprovide either a rectangular or a diamond shaped frame for jewelrydisplayed thereon. The ont side of the central panel has an outwardlyextending, jewelry support member attached to it. The support member isswivelablev or rotatable to enable jewelry supported thereon to beproperly oriented with respect to a viewer when the tray is used aseither a rectangular or a diamond shaped frame for the jewelry. Thesupport member advantageously is made of a llexible material to enableit to be -bent around a portion of an article of jewelry by ngerpressure thereby to secure the article thereon and to prevent it frombeing inadvertently disengaged from the support member.

Heretofore, it has been the practice of jewelers, particularly at theretail level, t0 display a ring, for example, in a small box having ahinged-top and a slotted, ringholding container portion. Several ofthese boxes generally are arranged in sidesby-side relation, with theirtops open, on a counter or a shelf of a display case. Apart from thefact that such boxes have a certain sameness about them and,thereforefail toaccentuate or enhance to any appreciable extent thebeauty or distinctive features of the jewelry item contained therein,they have structural characteristics which place limitations on theirutility as a jewelry display vehicle.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a jewelrydisplay tray having unique versatility not only from the standpoint ofits capabilities for displaying jewelry, especially a diamond ring, inits most fav0rable and attention-getting aspects, but also from thestandpoint of its ability to be placed and/or arranged in a position bya jeweler where it will display to the best possible advantage the itemof jewelry held by it. The tray of the present invention can besupported on a horizontal, inclined or vertical surfa-ce with equalfacility. In addition, it can be supported on any such surface in eitherone of two positions to provide either a distinctive rectangular framefor the jewelry item or an equally distinctive diamond-shaped frame forit. This result can be achieved, furthermore, while maintaining thejewelry item in a properly oriented position with relation to a viewer.The tray is provided with means for securely retaining an item ofjewelry in position on it irrespective of the manner in which the trayis supported. Apart from its functional features, the tray has anappearance in keeping with the type of jewelry for which it has utility,and yet can be made from inexpensive, readily available materials.

Briefly, the preferred jewelry display tray of the present inventioncomprises a rectangularly shaped central 3,370,702 Patented Feb. 27,1968 ICC panel and outward extending side Walls joined at their innermargins to the outer margins of the central panel. "The side walls arejoined together at their ends. A cover- 1ng panel advantageously issecured to the back of the central panel and carries two strips or bandsfor engaging support means for holding the tray in a substantiallyupright position. One of the bands extends across the covering panel andis secured at its ends along opposite side margins thereof. The otherband is diagonally disposed on the covering panel and is secured at itsends along two adjacent side margins thereof. The bands, as indicated,enable the display tray to be supported in at least two substantiallyupright positions, one of said positions being at approximately aforty-five degree angle to the other position. The front of the centralpanel has an outwardly ex` tending, llexible, hooklike, article-engagingmember Inova-bly mounted thereon for supporting an article of jewelry,such as a ring, to be displayed on the tray. The hook-likearticle-engaging member is swivelable or rotatable to enable an articleof jewelry supported thereon to be maintained in a properly orientedposition withy respect to a viewer. The tray desirably is constructedwith a cellular plastic or foam rubber material which is covered with asuitable fabric to give the tray a full, soft-ap pearing elfect which ispleasing to the eye and the touch.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparentupo-n making reference to the specification to follow, the claims, andthe drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of an embodiment of the display tray ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a front view in elevation of said embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a rear view in perspective of said embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a front view in elevation of said embodiment at an angle offorty-live degrees to the View thereof shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyalong line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

Referring, now, more particularly to the drawings, the embodiment of thedisplay tray illustrated and designated generally by reference numeral10, has a substantially rectangularly shaped central panel 12 andoutwardly extending, trapezoidally shaped side walls 14a, 1411, 14C and14d. The side walls are joined at their inner margins to the outermargins of the central panel, and are joined together at their ends. Thecentral panel and the side walls can be fabricated of any suitable rigidor semirigid sheet material such as paperboard, cardboard, berboard, orthe like. The inner surface of the central panel 12 and the innersurface of each of the side walls 14a, 14h, 14e and 14d desirably have athin layer 18 of a foamed or cellular material adhered thereon. Thematerial used for this purpose can be a foamed rubber or any of variousfoamed plastics. Exemplary of the last mentioned type of materials arepolyethylene, polypropyylene, styrene resins, acrylic resins, vinylresins, cellulosic resins, nylon resins, and the like. The central paneland the side walls, with the foarned or cellular material adheredthereon, advantageously are covered with a fabric 2l) such as velvet,velour, satin, silk, or other smooth-finished fabric. The fabric 20tends to depress the foamed layer 18 along its edges thereby imparting asmooth curvature to the inner surfaces of the covered side walls and thecentral panel which adds to the attractive appearance of the tray. Theappearance of the display tray can be further enhanced by applying acontrastingly colored accent strip 22 along the junctures of the ends ofthe side walls ano the inner margins of the side walls with the outermargins of the central panel. The strip 22 may take the form of a thickwith two support-engaging tapes or bands 28 and 30.

The band 2S extends across the back of the panel 26 and is maintained inposition near the top thereof by securing it-s ends between the innersurface of the panel 26 and the outer surface of the panel 12. The band30, on the -other hand, is diagonally disposed on the panel 26 and ismaintained in this position by securing one of its ends between theinner and outer surfaces, respectively, of the panel 26 and the panel12, along one of the lateral margins of the panel 26, and by securing,in the same Vmanner, its other end along the bottom margin of the panel26. The bands 28 and 30 are adapted to engage suitable support means forthe tray 1t? to enable the tray to be supported, when the band 28 isused, in the position illustrated in FIG. 3, or, when the band 30 isemployed, in the posiion shown in FIG. 5.

Positioned substantially centrally on the panel 12 is an outwardlyextending, relatively wide, movable hook-like article-engaging member32. The member 32, at its inner end, advantageously is swivelably joinedto the shank 34 of a pin or rivet 36 which passes through an opening inthe panel 26 and the panel 12. The rivet 36 has a head 38 for engagingthe outer surface of the panel 26, and is provided with a washer 4d toprevent longitudinal movement of the shank 34 relative to the panels 12and 26. The member 32 advantageously is formed from a thin strip offlexible metal to enable the free 4or hook-like end 42 thereof to beeasily inserted into the finger opening of a ring 44, for example, andthen bent around the band 45 of the ring thereby to hold the ringsecurely on the member 32 in any desired position. The exposed areas ofthe member 32 desirably are Vcovered with fabric to match the fabricemployed to cover other portions of the tray 10.

In use, the tray may either be supported on a horizontal or inclinedsurface, or it may be suspended in a substantially upright position on asuitable support. Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the band 28 maybe engaged on a nail or tack 50 driven into a wall 52. In this position,the tray will form a substantially rectangularly shaped framework forthe ring (see FIG. 3). When the band 30 is used to support the tray onthe tack 5G, on the other hand, the tray will provide a diamondshapedframework for the ring (see FIG. 5). The member 32 can be easily rotatedto properly orient the ring with respect to the line of vision of aviewer in either of the aforementioned positions. Irrespective of themanner in which the tray is supported, the ring, or other article ofjewelry, will be securely maintained on the member 32 at all times.

It should -be understood that various modicaiions in the specicembodiment of the invention disclosed and described will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeof the invention, and that it is intended that all matter contained inthe above description shall be interpreted as illustrative andl not in alimiting sense.

What is claimed is: Y 1,. A jewelry vdisplay tray comprising a centralpanel having a front and rear side and side walls extending upwardly andoutwardly from the front side of the central panel and joined at theirinner margins to the outer margins of the central panel, said side wallsbeing joined t0- gether at their ends, supporting-engaging meansattached to the rear side of the central panel, said means compus-V ingbands secured at their extremities to the central panel, one of'saidbands being substantially parallelly disposed with respect to twoopposite -side margins of the ceny tral panel and another of said bandsbeing diagonallyV disposed with respect to two adjacent side margins ofthe central panel, said bands enabling the display tray to be supportedin at least two substantially upright positions, one of said positionsbeing at approximately a forty-tive degree angle to the other of saidpositions, and an articleengaging member swivelably mounted at theVfront side of the central panel extending outwardlyv therefrom forsupporting an article of jewelry to be displayed on the tray, saidmember being adapted to be gripped by the fingers and rotated over anangle of about forty-live degrees about an axis transverse to the planeof the central panel to enable an article of jewelry supported thereonto be maintained in a properly oriented position with respect to aviewer when the tray is supported in one or the other of said at leasttwo positions.

2. A jewelry display tray a-s claimed in claim 1 wherein one surface ofthe central panel and the side walls is provided with a layer of a soft,pliable foamed material, the exposed surface of said material beingcovered with fabric. Y

3. A jewelry display tray as claimed in claim 1 wherein thearticle-engaging member is ilexible to enable it to be bent in a mannerto securely retain an article of jewelry thereon irrespective of theposition of the tray.

4. A jewelry display tray as claimed in claim 1 wherein a covering panelis provided for the rear side of the central panel and underliessaidbands.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1902 Angell 20G-76 1/ 1953Edwards 206-69

